Secret Letters
by Lapiz Sagana
Summary: Sarada notices that Sakura leaves the house at midnight and stuffs coins in her jewelry box. She steals the coins in an attempt to find out what her mother is hiding, and even drags Naruto, Boruto, and Shikamaru into it.


**Secret Letters**

 **by Lapiz Sagana**

It was a domino effect.

Had she managed to control her temper and keep her hand from colliding with Boruto's face, she wouldn't be up at one in the morning, dreading their inevitable encounter at the academy the very next day. They were used to striking each other in the training ground and even 'accidentally' hititng the other a little too strongly during actual battles, but their earlier argument had been different, and her slapping him across the face in front of their friends had not been a petty attempt at proving her superiority.

She slapped him because he said he wished his father were gone, and that, to Sarada, was crossing the line. In a slip of awareness, she told him that he was a rotten jerk for not appreciating the fact that he could even _see_ his father enough to get sick of him.

A subtle thud from outside her room made her sit up. She felt for her glasses under the duvet and slipped them on, debating whether to investigate or to dismiss it as harmless.

Her father, great as the Lord Seventh claimed him to be, may be absent to protect them, but her mother was more than enough security. Still, Sarada thought as she chewed on her bottom lip, Sakura had been exhausted lately from hospital work. Even a jonin of her caliber could let her defenses down some nights, right?

As Sarada slipped off the bed, kunai at hand, she felt again a pang of bitterness toward her father. That Sasuke Uchiha. He was supposed to be the one comforting her mother when she cried, checking her temperature when she was sick, and creeping into the living room when a robber could have broken in.

Sarada slipped between the tiny gap of her bedroom door and peered at the barely lit corridor. No presence. Her heart beating fast, she tiptoed to her mother's room and slipped in, making only a whisper of a noise as she did so.

It took her several moments to take in the emptiness of the bed. Had Sakura decided against waking her or leaving a note on her bedside table like she usually did when the hospital necessitated her presence?

Sarada flicked on the light switch. The open wardrobe attracted her attention. She scanned the disarray of clothes and found a certain cloak missing. It had been the same one she'd always seen there and which Sakura said she'd not used in years because the Hokage didn't like sending her out of the village.

Did that mean...?

Another thud from outside made Sarada jump on her place. Recognizing the approaching footfalls to be that of her mother's, she lowered herself to the floor and crawled under the bed.

She saw Sakura hesitate upon entering the bedroom. "Did I forget...? Oh well, Ino's right." She chuckled. "I must be getting old."

 _What kind of jonin would arrive at that conclusion so simply?_ Sarada shifted on the floor so she could follow her mother's feet as she moved around the bed, the hem of her cloak brushing her ankles. The bed sighed at her weight. "Release!"

A puff sounded, and Sarada smelled the faint odor of a seal broken. Silence settled in the room for what felt like hours, and she was almost asleep when she heard a shuffling. She rubbed her eyes. Sakura stepped out of the room again, this time making sure she turned off the light.

The fact that she still had her cloak on meant she was leaving the house. Sarada scanned the room for any sign of what it was her mother might've brought in, and found her jewelry box, which was usually kept hidden inside a drawer, at the center of the desk. She tipped the velvet lid back and found a bag of coins inside reeking of the metallic odor that pervaded her nose when Sakura released a seal.

She tucked the bag in her pocket and tiptoed back to her room. She'd just slipped under the blanket when her door swung inwards. Sarada sat up, hand clutching the blanket, and stared wide-eyed at her mother.

Sakura frowned at her. "And why are you still up, young lady?"

Sarada noted the absence of the cloak. Wherever she went, it must not be far. Either that, or her mother was faster than she let on. "Why are you barging in like a thief, mama? I'm a ninja. Konohamaru-sensei trains us to be alert always."

"Right." Sakura touched her forehead and gave her an apologetic smile. "I keep forgetting."

"Why are _you_ up, mama?"

"You know why," she said as she pulled the door close. "Hospital work. Nothing serious though. Anyway, goodnight, sweetheart."

Sarada waited until only the crickets could be heard before she slipped the bag of coins into the tear at the underside of her headboard's cushion. Tomorrow, she told herself as she settled back to sleep, tomorrow she'd find out what her mother was hiding.

Looking back to that night three weeks later, Sarada cursed herself for being so naive as to think things would go the way she planned them to. The coins, at the back of her head, remained a mystery to be solved that morning while she went about her routine. Whatever fixation she had on them, however, vanished altogether when she bumped into Boruto on the way to the academy.

The village was just beginning to wake up, the shopkeepers turning over signs on their display windows and shinobis maneuvering their way in the thickening crowd. Some of the same shinobis passed in blurs by the rooftops. And one of them - a genin with his father's whiskers - stared at her from across the street.

Her fingers curled to make fists at the sight of him approaching. Boruto stopped in front of her, their feet mere inches away, and said, "Burger. My treat."

The next thing she knew, they were walking side-by-side to a fast food chain and ordering an a la carte meal to go and eating them on the way to the academy. This was not something she thought was practical, as she didn't like to feel full just before taijutsu training, but she didn't know how to turn him down.

Boruto swallowed the last of his burger and licked his fingertips. He burped.

"You're a caveman," Sarada said before she could stop herself. She felt her face go hot, but before she could take it back, Boruto had stopped walking and put his hands on his waist.

"Well, you're a - you're a - !" He stopped, blinked at her, and lowered his gaze to the pavement. "...you were right. Sorry about yesterday."

Sarada pressed her cold drink against his cheek. "It's still a bit swollen. Sorry, too."

The day went on as usual, with Boruto attempting to be nice to her as best he could but forgetting all about it come the next morning. It was a domino effect indeed, at least in her mind, with one event falling onto another non-stop until it would be a week after her randezvous with Chocho and the Lord Seventh to meet with her father, which later ended up being an attempt to rescue her mother and stopping the bad guy, that she heard the thud again in the middle of the night and remembered the coins.

She pulled the blanket over one of her stuffed toys in case Sakura checked on her and crept to the kitchen. Minutes after Sakura left, she returned panting and hurried to her room.

Sarada squinted at her mother's figure, confused at this apparent routine whenever she put on her cloak and left in the night. She heard again from outside her mother's bedroom the puff of a ninjutsu released.

She retreated into the darkness when Sakura marched out with the hoodie over her head. A rising panic overwhelmed her. What if, just like her father, her mother was in transition to be sent out of the village for a mission that would take years to complete?

She couldn't bear the thought of returning home every single day to a house bereft of a mother and a father.

Once Sakura was out the window, Sarada dragged herself back to her room and collapsed on the bed. The image of the coins returned to her, and she reached for it from under the cushion of her headrest.

The sadness and confusion was too much that she was asleep before Sakura returned.

The Lord Seventh would hear it from her.

For all the talk about family and looking out for the people of Konoha, he sure felt at ease with sending his former 'teammates' so far from their only child.

Sarada left her mother a note that she'd be eating breakfast at a restaurant with Chocho and left for the Hokage's house. There was little chance of getting an audience with him after seven in the morning, and she also didn't want to talk to one of his shadow clones. The real Hokage should answer to her for whatever it was he was making her parents do.

She turned the corner and spotted Boruto leaving his house with a toast between his teeth. The Hokage dashed across their front lawn after him, scolding him for his bad manners.

Sarada sprinted past him and blocked his path, the dust billowing at their feet. "Seventh!"

Naruto looked down at her, his mouth still open from whatever he was going to shout at Boruto, and his bandaged fist in the air. "S-Sarada? Good morning! What are you...?"

"No way!" Boruto yelled from the mouth of the street. "Training doesn't start in another thirty minutes!"

Sarada took out the bag of coins from her pocket and shoved it under his nose. "You've got some explaining to do, Lord Seventh! And I won't accept it if you tell me it's confidential or that I have to wait."

In the end, Boruto, Sarada, and the Hokage still ended up in his office. He decided to set aside the first wave of his workload with Shikamaru's permission, and together they studied the coins that Sakura had gathered in a bag.

Shikamaru stood beside Naruto with a coin hoisted up his face. "So you think this is what she's busy with every time she goes out in the middle of the night?"

"Wait," she said, frowning at the Seventh, "If you have no idea what this is, then that means this isn't some sort of mission from you? Mama isn't going away?"

Naruto finished counting the coins. "No, Sarada. I would never do that to you. If I had a choice, I'd be in your father's shoes. That's my job as the leader of this village. It's just that I'm also needed here, and he insists he's better suited for the task. I'm sorry I can't indulge you with more details."

"You'd last outside the village?" Boruto arched his eyebrow. "Without mom to look out for you? I don't believe it."

Sarada shoved Boruto off the Hokage's desk to keep the father and son from bickering. "I tried releasing it from a seal but it doesn't look like it's got any ninjutsu in it..."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. He checked the rest of the coins scattered on the desk. "These are dated. They're not ordinary coins."

The four of them checked each coin and segregated those that had the same dates away from those that had no similar dates. Naruto focused on the first two groups categorized based on their similar dates. He closed his eyes, the coin pinned between his thumb and forefinger, and siad, "There's a ninjutsu here alright, but it's carefully crafted and a huge amount of chakra is required to break it."

"If it requires storing chakra, then it's not unlikely to be Sakura's work," Shikamaru said. "Can you break it?"

"I wouldn't be Hokage if I couldn't break something like this."

Boruto chuckled. "Let's see you try, old man."

The Seventh stood and concentrated his chakra on the coin, and after three minutes, the silver popped and a piece of paper immersed from the cloud of smoke.

Sarada caught it. She read the neat handwriting aloud. "Mikoto, congratulations." She scowled and waved it in the air. "It's signed by Fugaku."

"Strange." Naruto took the paper. "We don't have anybody in our ranks with those names, do we, Shikamaru?"

"Break the seal on the rest. It's best to know what they contain before we jump to any conclusions," Shikamaru said.

Naruto spent the next half hour breaking the seal on the coins, during which they concluded that those sent on one date all held congratulations, and on the other date, a note on how many years a certain lamp had burned.

"Mikoto," Boruto read in a deep voice, "The lamp has burned seven years. Signed, Fugaku. Mikoto, the lamp has burned ten years. Signed, Fugaku." He laughed. "This must be some kind of plot against the village. The lamp refers to how long they've been on this plan to conquer Konoha. You're a hero, Sarada."

She showed him her fist. "Are you calling my mother a traitor?"

Shikamaru cleared his throat. "Mikoto, if the Idiot goes near the lamp, kill the Idiot for me. If you won't, I will. And If I remember correctly, there are two Idiots now. Same instruction applies to the mini one. Sincerely, Fugaku." He opened one of the drawers in the Hokage's desk and pulled out a sheet of paper similar to that of the letter's. He held it up for Naruto to see. "Get it?"

Naruto looked back and fro the papers, the realization causing the blood to leave his face. "I'm the idiot, aren't I?"

Sarada slammed her hands on the desk. "What's going on?"

"Wait..." Boruto pointed at Naruto. "If you're the idiot, then - " pointing next to Shikamaru. "Are you the mini idiot? If this is an evil plot then it makes sense to refer to the Hokage and his advisor."

"Sasuke was referring to you, Boruto." Naruto returned the report inside his desk. "I get it that he's still mad I brought Sarada with me and we got into trouble, but he didn't have to involve my son. He should see they're good friends like I told him they would be."

Boruto paled. "I-I'm the idiot? Who the hell is Sasuke?"

Sarada gawked at him. "S-Sasuke...as in...? You mean papa?"

"Papa?" Boruto's jaws slackened. "Your father called me a mini version of this old idiot?"

Naruto hit Boruto's head lightly with a book before turning to Sarada. "It must be his means of communication with Sakura."

Shikamaru pushed a bundle of letters towards her. "You're the lamp, Sarada. These were the coins dated in your birth month." He motioned to the other bundle. "Those were dated in Sakura's birth month. He was using code names as safety measure. Sakura is Mikoto and he is Fugaku."

Sarada took Sasuke's letters with trembling hands. "My birthdays...he wrote to me on my birthdays. But why would mama keep these from me?"

"You're from a noble clan, Sarada," Naruto said. "And Sasuke's only heir. He had to take precautions."

"It's a birthday greeting! Mama could have at least shown me these." Sarada put the letters down before they tore in her grip.

Shikamaru folded his arms across his chest, a sorry smile on his face. "You're right, Sakura could have. But you wouldn't have understood why Sasuke had to refer to you as a lamp, and why she called your mother by another name. It would've led to series of questions that would've remained unanswered due to the confidentiality that binds your parents to silence about his mission. You're smart, Sarada. You know it was a logical choice from them both."

Sarada's trembling subsided. They were right. It was so easy to be angry in the midst of her confusion, but if she took a step back and put herself in their shoes, it was easy to see that they had done their best to spare her from more pain. Their encounter with Shin nearly cost them their lives. There was no saying that he was the last lunatic out there who'd take interest in the Sharingan. "Somebody wanted me and papa," she whispered. "That was what he was avoiding, wasn't it?"

Boruto grabbed a chair and forced Sarada to sit on it. "The mini idiot is correct. There must be a logical explanation to this sneaking around they're doing."

"I'm not the mini idiot, Boruto," Shikamaru said.

Sarada took another letter.

 _Mikoto,_

 _Take a lamp to the ocean. I am on the opposite end of it._

 _Fugaku_

She remembered her mother fetching her from school and bringing her to see the ocean and, sitting on that bench, they both closed their eyes and she thought it was just her imagination when she heard her say that her father was on the other end of it, looking out for them.

Another.

 _Mikoto,_

 _The herb you sent did not work. Perhaps because the wound was already worse by the time I received it. Estimated distance is four days away. Flesh might rot then. Send remedy quick. Don't panic. This wind might reach the lamp._

 _Fugaku_

Sarada had returned home to Sakura crying while packing a bag of bottled herbs and bandages. When she inquired, Sakura merely said it was for a patient and the herbs stung her eyes. Sasuke must've warned her not to cry because she would notice something was wrong.

The only patient Sakura ever cried for was her father.

Another.

 _Mikoto,_

 _I saved a life. The technique you taught me is useful. The child and her family sends their thanks to you._

 _Fugaku_

Another.

 _Mikoto,_

 _I burned the photograph you sent. I cannot carry traces of you. We don't know where eyes hide. Practice more caution._

 _Fugaku_

Sarada removed her eyeglasses and wiped her eyes. "It must've been a photograph of me and mama. Papa couldn't keep anything that would lead back to us, could he?"

Naruto skimmed through the letters. "Sending these is the most risk he'll take. Reading these...even I didn't know the extent of his injuries then. They're mostly inquiries about first aid and assurances to Sakura regarding his wounds. You're old enough to understand what sacrifices missions entail, but this would've freaked you out had you known about these when you were younger."

Boruto bursts into laughter. He showed Sarada the content.

 _Mikoto,_

 _I met with the Idiot. I hope the village is okay._

 _Fugaku_

Sarada blushed. She bowed her head to the Seventh. "I'm sorry papa keeps on referring to you as an idiot!"

The door burst open at that moment. Sakura stumbled inside yelling that somebody had broken into their house and stolen something that could put Sasuke in danger. She stopped when she saw Sarada, and her gaze averted to the coins and papers on the desk. Before her temper could erupt, Naruto approached her with a promise of a good explanation. He hadn't reached half of his narrative when Sakura punched him and scolded Shikamaru for tolerating Naruto's childish ways. "You should've called for me!"

"Mama, it's not their fault!" Sarada shielded Naruto. "I'm the one who forced them to help."

"Sakura," Naruto said while rubbing his cheek. "Why do you let Sasuke call me an idiot?"

Shikamaru pulled Naruto out of her reach. "We're sorry! You're right, we should've let you deal with this privately as a family. Please don't beat up Naruto today. He's already behind schedule."

Sakura walked past them to collect the coins and the letters. Boruto went behind his father's desk with both hands raised. "I'm totally cool with being called a mini idiot, Aunt Sakura."

"Geez, what a coward you are, Boruto," Sarada said.

Naruto straightened up and patted Sarada's head. His swollen cheek made it difficult for him to smile. "I'll call the academy and have you excused for today. It'll be best if you have a nice long chat with your mother about this."

Sakura pocketed the coins and motioned for Sarada to follow her out. "And Naruto," she said with a glance over her shoulder, "He means it as a compliment."

"Yeah, right," Naruto and Boruto said in unison.

Their walk home was the longest they hadn't spoken to one another while together. Sarada tried to steel herself and conjure a valid argument in her head that would justify her actions, but all ideas crumbled in the face of her mother's temper. She'd never seen her this way before.

Sakura let her in the house first and ordered her to sit in the living room. She sat still on the couch until Sakura returned with tea for both of them. Unable to bear the suspense any longer, Sarada broke the silence with an apology, which Sakura cut short with a tight embrace.

"Mama, aren't you…mad?"

"Of course, I am." Sakura sat next to her. "But more than that, I'm relieved I don't have to hide this from you. For a long time I've felt like some kind of bad guy for hiding evidences of how much your father loves you."

Sarada ran the back of her hand across her eyes. "I understand you were just trying to keep me safe. Mr. Shikamaru and the Seventh made sure I understand that."

"If you put it that way, then I suppose I'll have to apologize to them." Sakura sighed.

"So do you and papa always send letters to one another?"

"When he has the chance, he likes to tell me how he is and what kind of place he's going to visit. Nothing specific, unless it falls in the wrong hands," she said.

"I get the picture."

"I know you would." Sakura upturned Sarada's hand and poured coins on it. "That's why I've been discussing it with him, and we recently agreed that you're strong enough to be allowed a part in keeping all of us safe – starting first by making sure our bond stay strong."

Sarada gaped at the coins. "You mean you're letting me communicate with papa this way?"

"Why not?" Sakura grinned at her. "His only condition is that you can create and break the seal on your own. I'm highly suspicious that there are things he wants to tell only you."

She threw her arms around her mother and hurried to her bedroom. "I'll practice! Now! I'll practice often!" A thought struck her, and she used her foot to keep her door from slamming shut. "By the way, who's Fugaku and Mikoto?"

Sakura, with a faint blush, shrugged as she passed by her room. "Why don't you ask your father?"


End file.
